The Princess and the Dragon
by Gratiae
Summary: Calliope's taking care of Jack while the team's away on a case and he asks for a bedtime story. One-Shot.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.**

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"_If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten." – Rudyard Kipling_

o o o o

21 December, 2009

"Aunt Callie! Tell me a story," Jack Hotchner sat up in bed, one hand clutching his Nemo stuffed animal and the other stroking Perses' furry head where the puppy was lying next to him.

"Jack, we already watched _The Incredibles_ and had a snack and a glass of water," Calliope Sellers stopped in the doorway, her hand hovering over the light switch she'd been about to flip off. Turning around, she looked at the little boy and smiled fondly. "You can't put off going to bed forever, Buddy."

"Please, Aunt Callie?" Jack's big hazel eys begged and Calliope sighed. She walked back to the bed and sat on the edge.

"Okay, Jack. What's going on? Why don't you want to go to bed?"

"I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"George the Bad Guy," Jack whispered and hugged Nemo close.

"Oh, baby. George the Bad Guy can't get you," Calliope shifted until she sat next to Jack, thankful for once that she was so small and skinny and the two of them fit comfortably on Jack's twin bed. "Come here, bugger."

Jack snuggled into her arms and she kissed the top of his head, holding her little guy tightly. Perses, tired after a long afternoon of playing with Jack, lifted his head a little and then dismissed them, putting his head back down on his paws and blinking his eyes shut. Neither Jack nor Calliope spoke for a little while, the only sounds were the water movement from the fishtank against the far wall and Perses' audible breathing and Jack's sniffles.

"George can't hurt anyone ever again. Daddy made sure of that. He and your aunts and uncles got George the Bad Guy and he went away forever and ever. Like Syndrome. He's never coming back."

"Do you miss Uncle Spensor when they go away?" Jack's question was innocent and Calliope felt her heart twinge a little. Spencer's face filled her mind for a moment and she hugged Jack a little more securely and ran a hand over the puppy's back. Perses had been a birthday present from her boyfriend, Dr. Spencer Reid, because he knew she was lonely when he left and he knew how much she'd love the bumbling Bernese Mountain Dog.

"Yes. I miss Uncle Spencer when they leave, just like you miss Daddy."

"Do you get scared?"

"Yeah, I get scared, Jack," Calliope kissed his forehead and smoothed his blonde hair down. "But they aren't going to let anything happen to them, because they know they have to come back to us. Remember? Uncle Spencer and Daddy and Uncle Derek and funny Uncle Dave and Aunt Emily and Aunt J.J. – they all have to come home. So they don't let anything happen to them. Daddy loves you way too much to let anything keep him from coming home."

"Can I have a story?"

"Only if you promise to go to sleep."

"Promise."

"What story do you want?" Calliope scooted down and settled the boy next to her. "Robin Hood? David and Golith? Perseus and Medusa?"

"Can I have a new story?"

"A new story?" Jack nodded and squeezed Nemo. "A new story. Let's see… let's see… a new story. I'm a painter, you cute little bugger, not a writer. But I do read a lot, so let's see what I can do. You have to promise not to laugh at my story attempt, okay? Promise?"

"Promise," Jack giggled as she tickled his side and kissed him again.

"Okay. Here goes. Once, long ago, there was a beautiful land called College Station, Texas."

"Like where Eli and Isaac went!"

"You remembered. Such a smart boy. You liked my cousins, didn't you?"

"Marine's are cool," he nodded enthusiastically.

"I think so. Anyways. Once upon a time there was a land called College Station. And in College Sation there was a big castle called A&M. The sun always shone there, except for when torrential downpours occurred and everything flooded, but, even when that happened, the people of College Station, the Aggies, were, by and large, disturbingly, disturbingly happy.

"In this enchanted land there lived a knight, a brave knight, named Lawrence Sullivan Ross. Sul Ross was a couragous soldier, a noble statesman, and an honourable gentleman, and he embodied all that was good. There also lived a beautiful princess named Reveille and Sul Ross loved the beautiful Princess Reveille, but only like a sister, because anything else would have been wrong.

"And so they were happy in their kingdom, the brave knight Sul Ross, and the beautiful Princess Reveille, but then… disaster struck! The land was invaded by a big… smelly… stupid… orange dragon! And this dragon snatched the beautiful Princess Reveille away and bore her back to his cave high in the hills.

"Sul Ross was heartbroken! He wanted to rescue the beautiful Princess Reveille, but he knew that even he, the courageous soldier that he was, would not be able to defeat the smelly, stupid orange dragon alone. So he sent out a call far across the land for the bravest and strongest knights to help him retrieve the beautiful Princess Reveille. Twelve knights answered the call, for they too loved the beautiful Princess, and so they agreed to march to the dragon's lair and defeat him.

"And so they donned their armor and lifted their bright swords, and, with Sul Ross at their head, they rode out to the land of the hills and challenged the stupid, smelly orange dragon, and they fought him. For four long, hot quarters they fought him, and there were times it seemed victory was out of reach.

"But, then, when the dust had cleared, the stupid, smelly orange dragon was slain, and the brave knights were victorious! They rescued the beautiful Princess Reveille, and robed her in maroon, and rode in triumph back to the magical land of College Station to the kingdom of A&M. Upon their return, Sul Ross knew he must do something to honour the twelve knights who had ridden into battle with him.

"He asked them, brave knights, what do you wish for more than anything in the world? And they answered, only to serve always the land of College Station. And so he granted them boots and sabers of magical strength, and they became the Corps of Cadets, and they were given the sacred charge of caring for Princess Reveille, which was actually somewhat unfortunate for them, because she bites."

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**A/N:**

**Ah, yes! Another _Mystery Muse_ deleted scene! For those of you who don't know, _Mystery Muse_ is my multi-chapter Criminal Minds fanfic, which focuses on Spencer and his heroine, Calliope.**

**You all know that I'm a very proud Texan. I'm a hardcore Aggie fan. My uncle was an Aggie in the Corps of Cadets. I'm transferring to A&M next fall. Long live A&M! I don't really have anything against t.u., it's just on principle and family loyalty. So, no offense meant to any Longhorns who might have happened upon this story. Many of my close friends are both Aggies and Longhorns and I love them both equally. For those of you who have never been to Texas, you'd never understand the insane rivalry/hatred between U. of Texas and Texas A&M. It's intense. And that's putting it lightly.**

**Anyways, this idea just came to me, so I wrote it down. I hope you like it! Please, tell me what you think - good or bad! Or if you just want to yell at me about the whole A&M/t.u. bit. That's cool too.**

**Love you all! -Thalia**

**P.S. I'm almost done with the long awaited new chapter of _Mystery Muse_. Sorry it's taken so long, but my mum had knee replacement surgery and I've been taking care of her, so I haven't had much uninterrupted time to focus. And, even when I had time, I was just to stressed to write Calliope and Spencer. They mean so much to me and I wasn't up to it because I knew anything I wrote under that stress level wouldn't be good enough for them. I hope yall forgive me. But it'll be up by this weekend.**


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